Glucose Tolerance and Pancreatic Infrastructure in Mice with Long-Term Diabetes Induced by EMC Virus (M Variant)

Summary

Of 27 young male CD-1 mice infected with the M variant of the encephalo-myocarditis (EMC) virus and surviving for 11 or 12 mo, all but three had normal glucose tolerance curves, and all displayed normal islet cell morphology, at the time of sacrifice, in spite of an initial hyperglycemic response. Three animals maintained diabetic glucose tolerance curves one year after infection but they, too, failed to show significant morphological alterations in their pancreatic beta cells.

The authors are indebted to Mrs. Celina Mitgang, Mr. Zoran Dordevic and Mr. Charles Vibert for technical assistance, and to Mr. Herbert A. Fischler for preparing the illustration.